The families behind the Porsche brand have bought back a 10% stake in their holding company from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction means that the Porsche and Piëch families are once more the sole shareholders of the luxury carmaker's holding company. That company is the largest single shareholder of Volkswagen, which in turn manufactures Porsche sports cars.

Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, had bought the stake four years ago when a Porsche takeover bid for the much-larger Volkswagen collapsed. VW eventually turned the tables and took over Porsche instead. Qatar's fund continues to own a 17% stake in VW, Europe's biggest carmaker and the owner of automotive brands including Audi, Bentley and Skoda.

Wolfgang Porsche, Porsche's chairman, said: "All of Porsche's common stock is now again held by the Porsche and Piëch families. This is an expression of our confidence in the prosperous future of Porsche as the largest shareholder of Volkswagen."